Located at the confluence of Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. Named for legendary Indian Chief Paduke. Settled in 1821, it was platted in 1827 by General William Clark, incorporated in 1830, and made McCracken county seat in 1832. During Civil War, Confederates seized Hickman and Columbus. Gen. U. S. Grant occupied Paducah, 1861, keeping Kentucky in the Union. Nathan Bedford Forrest raided here, March 25, 1864, in action called Battle of Paducah. Home of Alben Barkley, Vice President, 1949-53, and birthplace of Irvin S. Cobb, world-famous author. From village to town in 1856, to second-class city by 1902, Paducah grew as market, steamboat port, and railroad hub. In the early 1950s Paducah entered the atomic age when the $785,000,000 gaseous diffusion plant was built. Presented by Tilghman Class of 1928.
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Paducah's City Hall - One of the nation's most attractive, a gleaming symbol of pride and progress, designed by world-famous Edward Durell Stone and Associates of New York City; associate architect Lee Potter Smith. The building, two-story and basement, rises from a 216-foot-square podium encircled by a moat, has over 60,000 square feet of floor space, and cost over $1,500,000. Highlight of the interior is the pyramidal lantern enclosing a two-story-high, 60-foot-square atrium, rising above the centrally located fountain. Ground was broken on June 20, 1963, while Robert Cherry was Mayor. Dedication ceremonies were held on February 28, 1965, during Mayor Tom Wilson's administration, marking the beginning of a renaissance for downtown Paducah. Presented by Tilghman Class of 1928.